Sl^"^ 


THE     I'KOl'KIKTY 


Acknowledging  the  Lord 


IN    ALL   OUR    WAYS 


ithc  i^afcalaurcatc  Sermon 

I'Kl.  \cili;i>    i:i.i  (JKI-. 

THE    COLLEGE    OF    NEW    JERSEY. 
June  i6th,  1878. 


v^ 


HV 


AMKS   McCOSH,   D.I).,    I.L.I ). 


HKKSIDE.NT   OK   THE    COLI.K( 


\i:W    YORK  : 
ROBKRT    CARTER    AND    B R O T H M R S 

l'HINtKI<»\:    MiGINNKSS   .t    KUNYoN 


1878. 


of  rr//TcJ: 


THE     PROPRIETY 


OF 


Acknowledging  the  Lord 

IN   ALL   OUR   WAYS. 

JTUt  Baccalaurcatt  .^rrmou 

PREACHED    BEFORE 

THE    COLLEGE    OF    NEW   JERSEY, 
June  i6th,  1878. 


JAMES  McCOSH,  D.D.,  LI..D., 

PRESIDENT  OF   THE    COLLEGE. 


NEW   YORK: 

ROBERT    CARTER    AND    BROTHERS. 

1878. 


Ki.wAKi)  « ).  Jhnkins'  Print,  2o  N.  William  St. 


THE    rKOrRlETY 


OF 


Acknowledging  the  Lord 

IN   ALL  OUR  WAYS. 


""In  all  thy  'aays  acknoivled^f  Him  and  l!f  shall dirfct  thy  fath.^^—Vrow  iii. 
16.  "  A  man's  heart  drz'ist'tlt  his  7fay,  but  the  Lord  directeth  his  steps.''' — 
Prov.  xvi.  9.  "  There  are  many  dei'ices  in  a  mans  heart :  nevertheless  the  coun- 
sel ,i/ the  Lordy  that  shall  standi— Vxos.  xix.  21. 


IT  is  very  interesting  to  look  on  a  company  of 
youn<;  people,  such  as  I  now  see  before  me.  We 
shall  find  that  the  wise  man  has  some  lessons  to 
them. 

I. 

Let  us  look  at  the  many  ways  before  the 
YOUNG.  As  the  sky  bends  all  around  him,  the  boy 
regards  his  father's  house  as  the  center  of  the  world, 
and  in  a  sense  it  is  so  to  him  as  is  every  other  spot 
in  which  he  may  be.  In  a  like  way  every  man's 
present  position,  rather  than  the  past  or  the  future, 
is  the  center  of  his  world  — his  sky  bends  all  around  it. 
The  whole  of  his  past  has  come  down  to  it  ;  his  future 
starts  from  it.  All  the  roads  lead  to  it  ;  all  the  roads 
go  out  from  it.  In  the  metropolis  of  this  country 
the  streets  go  out  toward  the  various  States.     From 


4         THE  PROPRIETY  OF  ACKNOWLEDGING 

the  point   the)-  liavc  reached,  the  young  men  may 
look  out  on  the  ways  spread  before  them. 

There  are  the  professioual  walks  anxiously  regard- 
ed by  thoughtful  }ouths:  the  learned  professions, 
business,  farming,  travel,  literature,  science,  the  pas- 
toral, the  missionary  office.  There  are  the  various 
motives  and  ends  seen  at  a  distance,  which  would  lead 
}Ou  to  enter  these  walks,  such  as  wealth,  fame,  fash- 
ion, usefulness  in  the  church  or  world.  Some  set  one 
of  these  aims  before  them  and  pursue  it  eagerly.  Most 
mingle  more  or  fewer  of  these  ends  in  all  kinds  of 
ill-assorted  and  undefined  proportions,  leading  to  very 
incongruous  lives. 

There  are  ways  before  you  which  lead  through 
time  into  eternity,  and  through  eternity  itself.  There 
is  the  wide  gate,  and  many  going  in  thereat,  with  a 
number  of  paths  going  out  from  it :  the  path  of  pleas- 
ure with  flowers  on  either  side;  and  the  path  of  am- 
bition with  promised  crowns  apparently  ready  to  be 
placed  on  your  brow  ;  but  with  the  issues  carefully 
concealed,  the  dismal  swamps,  the  deserts  strewn 
with  the  carcasses  of  slain  reputations,  and  the  end 
of  the  whole  everlasting  darkness.  There  is  the 
strait  gate  where  you  have  to  leave  your  sins  be- 
hind you,  that  you  may  go  unburdened  with  a  pros- 
pect ever  becoming  more  pleasant  under  a  shaded 
avenue,  and  ever  and  anon  opening  to  you  glimpses  of 
the  city  which  hath  foundations.  These  two  gates  are 
before  you  ;  you  must  enter  one  or  the  other.  Choose 
ye  this  day  which  ye  will  take. 

A  curious  sight   would   be  disclosed   to  us,   if  wc 


THE  LORD  IX  AIJ.   OCR    WAYS.  5 

could  h:i\c  a  horoscojic  to  reveal  to  us  the  coming 
destiny  of  those  now  before  me.  Su|jpose  the  class- 
roll  were  called  at  a  certain  time  in  the  future,  say 
ten  or  twenty  years  hence,  and  as  the  name  came  up,  a 
note  taken  as  to  the  position  of  each  one.  How  divers 
the  marks  we  would  have  to  take  d(jwn.  'I'he  ma- 
jority we  might  still  find  toiling  in  one  or  other  of 
the  dusty  walks  of  life,  not  having  yet  reached  their 
end,  but  still  laboring  in  hope.  Some  are  prosper- 
ing; others  have  met  with  one  disappointment  after 
another.  Some  are  already  wealthy;  more,  perhaps, 
have  still  to  struggle  for  the  bare  means  of  subsist- 
ence. A  few  have  reached  an  eminence  more  or  less 
lofty  ;  most  are  still  climbing  the  hill.  .Some  we  may 
fear  are  living  for  self  and  for  this  world  ;  others,  we 
trust,  are  living  for  (jod  and  to  do  good.  Many,  we 
hope,  are  sustaining  a  high  character;  one  or  more 
have  fallen  through  pride  and  lust,  and  are  living  with 
a  blackened  character.  It  is  certain  that  for  a  num- 
ber, less  or  more,  others  have  to  answer  ;  for  they 
have  been  called  auay  to  the  other  world,  where  their 
destiny  is  fixed  forever:  their  friends  beliexing  that 
they  are  in  the  land  of  light  and  love;  but  some, 
alas! — the  experience  of  the  world  leads  us  to  make 
the  supposition — leaving  behind  them  a  name,  which 
their  friends  seldom  mention,  because  it  is  as  offen- 
sive as  the  odors  which  issue  from  an  open  grave. 

But  from  our  present  point,  we  can  not  thus  look  into 
the  future,  and  ascertain  what  is  to  be  the  particular 
lot  of  any  one.  (^lod  has  in  wisdom  and  in  kindness 
drawn   an   imjienetrable  veil   over  the   details  of  tlie 


6         THE  rROPRIETY  OF  ACKNOWLEDGING 

future,  and  all  that  we  ma\'  attend  to  the  duties  of  the 
present.  We  can,  indeed,  see  in  a  general  way,  that 
those  who  pursue  an  evil  course  will,  sooner  or  later, 
be  visited  with  God's  righteous  judgment ;  and  that 
those  who  walk  in  the  right  way  will  be  encouraged 
and  strengthened,  and  reach  a  blessed  termination  in 
this  world  or  the  next.  Beyond  this  no  one  has 
any  vision  of  what  is  to  come  ;  and  it  is  well  that 
it  is  so,  as  premature  disclosures,  if  gloomy,  might 
unfit  us  for  exertion,  and,  if  bright,  might  slacken  our 
energy.  So,  from  our  present  position,  our  duty  is  to 
choose  the  proper  path  and  walk  steadily  in  it. 

II. 
Let  us  consider  the  heart  as  devising  its 
WAV.  The  heart,  as  the  word  is  now  used,  stands 
for  the  feelings.  But  it  should  be  observed  that  the 
word  "  feelings"  is  not  used  in  Scripture, and  the  word 
"  feeling "  occurs  only  twice,  and  in  neither  case  in 
our  sense  of  the  phrase.  Some  are  spoken  of  in  Eph. 
iv.  19,  as  being  "  past  feeling,"  afrtAyem.  past  modesty  ; 
and  in  Heb.  iv.  15,  Jesus  is  said  to  be  "  touched  with 
a  feeling  of  our  infirmities,"  av/zTaO//rof,  with  a  sym- 
pathy. Nor  is  there  in  the  Greek  or  Roman  languages 
a  word  of  exactly  the  same  meaning  as  our  *'  feelings." 
The  phrase  used  in  Scripture  is  a  more  comprehensive 
and  expressive  one,  **  heart,"  denoting  something 
deeper  than  mere  floating  or  fleeting  emotions.  We 
read  in  Scripture  again  and  again  of  the  "imagina- 
tions," the  "devices,"  the  "thoughts,"  the  "pur- 
poses" of  the  heart. 


THE  LORD  IX  ALL  OCR   WAYS.  ; 

In  the  Word  of  Ciod  tlic  phrase  "  licart  "  denotes 
what  vvc  now  call  the  "  Motive"  part  of  man's  nature 
(the  Orcc  i/c  of  Aristotle),  that  which  raises  up  de- 
sire and  leads  to  action.  It  embraces  the  springs  of 
action,  the  "heart,  out  of  which  are  the  issues  of  life." 
It  denotes  not  so  much  the  streams  as  the  fountain  out 
of  which  they  flow.  It  is  the  choosing,  the  moving 
power,  out  of  which  come  our  projects,  purposes, 
devices,  plans,  in  thought  and  imagination,  as  well  as 
our  affections  and  feelings.  Hence  we  read,  Prov. 
xvi.  I,  of  "the  disposings  of  the  heart."  Mad  this 
meaning  of  the  word  been  kept  in  view,  wc  should 
have  been  saved  an  immense  amount  of  confused  and 
confusing  controversy  as  to  whether  faith,  whether 
religion,  is  an  affair  of  the  feelings  or  the  understand- 
ing. Faith  is  an  operation  of  the  heart — ''  with  the 
heart  man  believeth"— but  of  the  heart  in  the  enlarged 
sense  of  Scripture,  embracing  will  and  motive  and 
purpose,  being  specially  ''trust,"  the  word  used  in 
the  Old  Testament.  We  see  how  wide  and  compre- 
hensive the  command,  "  Keep  thy  heart  with  all  dili- 
gence, for  out  of  it  are  the  issues  of  life."  It  directs 
that  the  fountain  be  made  pure,  that  the  streams 
may  be  pure. 

The  work  of  Christ,  when  He  enters  the  heart,  must 
be  of  the  same  kind  as  that  of  the  good  King  Heze- 
kiah,  when  he  entered  the  Temple  which  had  been 
so  polluted  during  the  reign  of  his  predecessors.  On 
approaching  it,  he  sees  the  porch  shut  up;  on  en- 
tering it  by  force,  he  finds  the  golden  candlestick, 
which,  for  ages,  had  burned   with   Hght   from  heaven. 


8         THE  PROPRIETY  OF  ACKNOWLEDGING 

extinguished  in  darkness.  When  a  light  is  brought 
what  a  scene  is  disclosed ;  the  vessels  of  the  house  of 
the  Lord  cut  in  pieces,  and  the  house  of  the  Lord 
filled  with  all  uncleanness.  The  altar  was  still  there, 
but  no  holy  incense  had  for  years  risen  from  it.  And 
what  was  the  first  work  of  Hezekiah  in  these  circum- 
stances? It  was  a  work  of  overthrow  and  purifica- 
tion, and  for  long  successive  days  were  the  Levites 
employed  in  bringing  out  these  abominations  from 
the  Temple,  and  casting  them  into  the  brook  Ke- 
dron.  Now,  there  is  such  a  scene  disclosed  to  our 
view  when  God  opens  the  heart  which  should  have 
been  His  temple,  and  there  must,  in  the  first  instance, 
be  a  similar  work  of  overthrow.  Or,  rather,  the  work 
more  nearly  resembles  that  in  which  Hezekiah's  son, 
the  ungodly  son  of  a  pious  parent,  engaged  in  his 
declining  life  when  he  was  brought  to  know  that 
"  the  Lord  he  is  God."  That  poor  man  had  made  his 
children  pass  through  the  fire  to  Moloch,  and  reared 
up  altars  to  Balaam,  and  altars  to  all  the  host  of 
heaven  in  the  two  courts  of  the  house  of  the  Lord, 
and  set  a  carved  image,  the  idol  which  he  had 
made,  in  the  house  of  the  Lord.  But,  on  being 
brought  to  repentance,  he  has  to  enter  the  Temple, 
and  undo  all  his  work.  ''  And  he  took  away  the 
strange  gods  and  the  idol  out  of  the  house  of  the 
Lord,  and  the  altars  which  he  had  made  in  the  mount 
of  the  house  of  the  Lord,  and  in  Jerusalem,  and  cast 
them  out  of  the  city."  Now,  the  work  in  which  the 
sinner,  brought  to  see  his  sin,  has  to  engage,  more 
nearly    resembles   the    work    of    Manasseh    than    the 


THE  LORD  IN  ALL  Ol'R   \VA  VS.  g 

work  of  I  Iczckiali  ;  for  tlic  deeds  w  liich  he  lias  to 
undo  are  his  own  deeds,  the  altars  and  idols  which 
he  has  to  cast  down  are  the  altars  and  idols  which 
he  had  raised.  And  what  a  scene  is  beheld  b\'  him, 
and  beheld  b)'  him  with  disma)',  and  with  all  the 
greater  dismay,  because  he  used  to  survey  it  with 
pleasure  and  complacency  !  Here  is  pride  blocking 
up  the  very  entrance  ;  here  is  covetousncss,  which  is 
idolatry;  here  is  vanity,  a  carved  image,  and  lust  and 
passion,  with  their  abominations  nestling  in  this  spot 
and  in  that  spot,  in  the  very  temple  of  God.  There 
is  need  of  a  work  of  preparation.  There  must  be  a 
way  prepared  by  and  for  the  Lord. 

In  order  that  the  heart  may  be  pure,  it  must  first 
be  purified,  and  to  have  it  purified  is  our  first  duty. 
Our  first  duty  is  not  to  do  certain  works  :  to  give  alms, 
to  keep  the  Sabbath  and  give  up  particular  sins;  all 
these  are  duties  and  important  duties,  but  they  arc 
not  the  first,  though  they  should  immediately  follow, 
or  rather  go  along  with,  the  first.  When  a  man's  body 
is  diseased,  his  first  duty  is  to  be  rid  of  the  malady. 
When  a  man's  house  is  on  fire,  his  first  business  is 
not  to  furnish  or  adorn  it,  but  to  extinguish  the 
flames.  So  the  first  work  of  a  sinner,  under  sin  and 
condemnation,  is  to  be  delivered  from  the  fatal  mal- 
ady, from  the  consuming  fire.  The  first  care  of  the 
burdened  pilgrim  is  to  be  rid  of  his  load,  that  he  may 
pursue  his  journey.  This  is  the  decisive  step  in  the 
Christian's  life;  it  is,  in  fact,  the  crisis  of  his  being. 
It  is  called  the  ''  new  birth,"  "  conversion,"  '*  regener- 
ation ;"  it  is  the  stej)  b)'  which  we  are  born  into  the 


10      THE  PROPRIETY  OE  ACKNOWLEDGING 

kincfdom  of  heaven,  as  bv  our  natural  birth  we  were 
born  into  the  world.  Till  this  change  is  wrought  in 
him,  the  devices  of  the  man's  heart  are  sure  to  be 
worldly,  sinister,  pciverted,  crooked.  Even  when  we 
would  do  good,  evil  is  present  with  us.  While  alto- 
gether unaware  of  it,  we  may  be  swayed  by  selfish 
and  ungodly  motives,  leading  us  into  one  sin  after 
another.  The  diseased  eye  needs  to  be  rectified  be- 
fore it  can  see  things  in  their  proper  form  and  color. 
But  being  so  purified,  we  are  now  ready  to  discern 
our  way. 

It  is  a  man's  duty  to  devise  his  way,  to  choose  a 
way  among  those  spread  out  before  him.  God  has 
given  him  faculties  for  this  purpose ;  among  others, 
powers  of  observation  and  of  discernment.  He  can 
look  back  on  his  past  experience  and  gather  wisdom 
from  it.  He  can  take  the  advice  of  friends  in  whom 
he  has  confidence,  that  they  know  the  world  and 
mankind,  and  have  a  regard  for  him.  He  should 
calmly  survey  the  position  in  which  he  is  placed,  and 
his  prospects  as  to  any  given  line  of  life  that  may  be 
open  to  him.  He  may  survey  his  bodily  strength 
and  determine  whether  his  health  is  likely  to  stand 
the  labor  which  he  has  to  undertake.  He  is  called 
specially  to  estimate  his  talents,  and  to  find  what 
they  are  adapted  to.  This  is  somewhat  difficult  and 
delicate  work,  as  men  are  often  very  inadequate 
judges  of  their  own  capacities,  frequently  overrating 
them,  ancj  so  trying  tasks  beyond  their  strength,  but 
at  times  through  a  morbid  modesty  underrating 
them,  and   so   declining  work   which   they  could   ac- 


THE  LORD  IN  ALL  OUR   \VA  VS.  \  \ 

comi)li.sh  if  only  tlic}-  had  the  courai^^c  to  undertake 
it.  Still,  by  means  of  trials  of  various  kinds,  success- 
ful and  unsuccessful,  the  candid  man  will  be  able  to 
ascertain  what  he  is  fit  for.  In  a  subordinate  way 
the  youth  may  consider  not  only  his  ^nfts,  but  his 
very  tastes:  as  special  tastes  often  proceed  from 
special  talents;  and  as  he  is  most  likjly  to  succeed  in 
a  line  of  life  for  which  he  has  an  inclination.  Look- 
ing thus  to  his  position  and  his  capacities  he  may 
discover  a  fitness  which  determines  for  him  his  choice 
and  his  path.  He  may  then  go  forward,  feeling  as 
if  he  had  been  drawn  in,  or  shut  in  by  God,  who  has 
not  indeed  spoken  to  him  by  an  audible  voice,  but 
has  called  him  by  His  Providence.  Having  thus 
weighed  everything,  and  devised  his  way,  he  should 
set  out  courageously  and  hopefully,  and  pursue  his 
way  steadfastly,  hearing  by  faith  a  voice  behind  him 
saying:  "This  is  the  way,  walk  ye  in  it."  This  faith 
will  impart  a  hope  and  an  energy  to  him  in  the  path 
lie  takes.  Nothing  can  be  more  despicable  than  the 
aimless,  inconsistent  life  which  many  lead.  If  you 
ask  them  for  what  purpose  they  are  living,  they  can 
scarcely  tell  you,  for  in  fact  they  have  no  end  before 
them,  except  to  eat  and  drink,  and  act  as  others  do, 
and  according  to  the  whim  of  the  moment,  or  their 
surroundings  at  the  time. 

There  are  youths  to  whom  God  gives  a  special  call 
to  enter  on  the  work  of  the  minister  or  the  mis- 
sionary. A  father  or  mother  dedicated  him,  as 
Hannah  did  Samuel,  to  the  service  of  the  Lord  in 
His  temple,  w;hich  is  His  Church.  Prayers  have  been 
offered    for   him    continually    all    toward    this    end. 


1 2        THE  PROPRIETY  OF  ACKNO  WLEDGING 

There  has  been  a  constant  reference  to  it  in  the 
training  in  the  family,  in  the  school,  and  in  the  col- 
lege. Or  prompted  from  above,  he  purposed  at  the 
time  when  he  entered  the  Church  to  consecrate  his 
life  to  the  proclamation  of  the  Gospel  at  home  or 
abroad.  He  sees  that  he  would  serve  higher  ends, 
and  be  more  useful  in  this  service  than  in  any  other 
work.  When  he  looks  to  all  this,  he  should  feel  that 
the  call  is  of  God,  and  immediately  obey.  As  he 
does  so,  he  is  not  to  be  frightened  by  difficulties,  or 
refuse  to  go  forward  because  they  are  in  the  way,  or 
until  they  are  removed.  ''  He  that  observeth  the 
word  shall  not  sow,  and  he  that  regardeth  the  clouds 
shall  not  reap."  But  when  we  hear  the  command, 
"■  In  the  morning  sow  thy  seed,  and  in  the  evening 
withhold  not  thine  hand,"  let  us  go  forth  and  obey, 
and  the  winds  will  blow  in  our  favor,  and  the  clouds 
discharge  gracious  showers.  There  is  a  timidity  and 
a  fear  on  the  part  of  many  that  is  cowardly.  When 
God  is  calling  for  soldiers  let  us  hasten  to  be  enrolled. 
When  the  order  is  given,  ''  Speak  unto  the  people 
that  they  go  forward,"  let  us  go  forward,  even  though 
the  sea  be  rolling  at  our  feet,  and  we  shall  find  that 
God  will  make  a  way  even  in  the  depths  of  the  sea 
for  His  people  to  pass  in,  and  the  waters  shall  be  a 
wall  unto  them  on  their  right  hand  and  on  their  left. 

111. 

TiiK  Command  is,  A(  knowi.kdck  thk  Lord  in 
ALL  THY  WAYS.  We  should  do  so,  if  for  no  other 
reason,  yet,  for  this,  that  while  man   may  liave  many 


THE  LORD  IN  ALL  OCR   \VA  VS.  13 

devices,  "  the  counsel  of  the  Lord,  it  shall  stand." 
We  should  plan,  but  should  all  the  time  remember 
that  there  is  One  above  us  whose  plans  overrule  ours, 
to  thwart  them  or  bring  them  to  a  successful  issue. 
God  often  shows  that  He  is  above  man,  and  that  He 
is  stronger  than  man.  We  are  all  made  to  feel  how 
dependent  we  are  on  Him.  A  youth  sets  out  on  his 
professional  career  with  bright  prospects  of  success, 
but  is  prostrated  by  disease  and  loses  the  tide,  and 
knows  not  that  another  will  rise  in  his  favor.  More 
than  one  of  the  grand  old  Greek  plays  teach  that  the 
gods  carried  their  purposes  not  only  in  spite  of  the 
opposition  of  men,  but  by  means  of  the  very  opposi- 
tion. It  having  been  foretold  that  a  son  is  to  kill  his 
father,  the  son  is  banished,  in  consequence,  to  a  dis- 
tant country,  but  it  is  so  ordered  by  fate  that  the  son 
falls  in  with  the  father  and  murders  him,  without 
knowing  who  he  is.  The  truth  thus  brought  out 
strongly,  but  rudely,  by  those  old  poetical  moralists, 
is  clearly  and  accurately  declared  and  illustrated  in 
the  Old  Testament  by  numerous  incidents.  Thus, 
Ahitophel,  who  had  all  his  life  been  a  man  of  deep 
policy,  on  his  abandoning  David  at  the  time  when 
Absalom  rebelled,  is  detected  and  exposed  in  the 
view  of  the  whole  world,  and  lays  violent  hands  on 
himself.  Haman  is  suspended  on  the  gallows  which 
he  had  erected  for  the  execution  of  a  noble-minded 
Jew.  "  The  wicked,"  says  the  Psalmist,  *'  are  caught 
in  their  own  snare." 

We  are  to  acknowledge  the  Lord  in  all  our  ways. 
We  are  to  acknowledge  Him  at  starting,  that  He  may 


14      THE  PROPRIETY  OF  ACKNOWLEDGING 

keep  us  from  setting  out  on  the  wrong  path.  We  arc 
to  acknowleclge  Him  tliroughout,  lest  He  abandon  us 
at  a  critical  time,  the  time  of  danger  and  temptation, 
and  leave  us  to  walk  in  our  own  way,  which  may  be 
one  of  folly  ending  in  misery.  You  remember  how 
the  children  of  Israel,  without  consulting  God,  en- 
tered into  a  treaty  with  the  Gibconites,  who  deceived 
them,  and  were  allowed  to  dwell  in  the  land  where 
for  ages  they  were  as  thorns  in  the  sides  of  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel,  and  on  one  occasion  came  down  upon 
them  with  nine  hundred  chariots  of  iron  and  oppress- 
ed them  mightily.  We  are  to  acknowledge  Him  by 
constantly  and  habitually  looking  to  His  Word,  es- 
pecially to  His  law  in  the  Old  Testament  form,  rigid 
and  unbending,  and  the  New  Testament  form,  com- 
prised in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  irradiated  all 
over  with  the  smiles  of  love  beaming  from  the  coun- 
tenance of  Jesus.  For  this  purpose  we  should  read  a 
portion  of  it  daily,  that  its  precepts  may  be  kept  be- 
fore us.  Even  when  we  are  not  thinking  of  a  par- 
ticular passage,  we  will  be  walking  in  the  light  of 
(jod's  law  shed  around  us,  as  we  walk  in  the  light  of  the 
sun  even  when  we  are  not  looking  directly  at  it.  Walk- 
ing thus  we  will  draw  back  from  whatever  is  discoun- 
tenanced by  that  law  ;  and  not  act  as  Balaam  did 
when,  lured  by  the  wages  of  iniquity,  he  went  on  his 
way  without  leave  from  God,  and  did  not  take  the 
warning  of  the  angel  with  the  drawn  sword  standing 
across  his  path,  and  in  the  end  perished  in  his  sin. 
In  that  light  we  shall  see  light,  and  see  oj^enings  of 
usefulness  on  the  ri'dit  hand  and  on  the  left. 


THE  LORD  IN  ALL  OVR   WA  VS. 


5 


We  arc  to  ackno\vIcd<rc  Him  by  prayer  offered 
daily,  as  the  day  opens  and  the  day  closes,  and  by 
ejacidatory  petitions  from  time  tr)  time,  rising  calmly 
out  of  the  midst  of  the  bustle  and  temptatibns  of 
life,  reaching  the  ear  of  God  and  moving  His  arm  for 
our  protection  and  deliverance.  There  may  be  prayer 
where  no  words  are  uttered,  as  we  read  of  Hannah's 
prayer  being  offered  and  heard  by  God  when  Eli 
standing  by  perceived  nothing  but  her  lips  moving. 
Nay,  the  heart  may  be  moved  when  the  lips  are  not. 
We  are  commanded  to  ''  pray  always,"  to  '*  continue 
instant  in  prayer."  Not  that  every  instant  we  are 
using  the  language  of  prayer,  not  even  that  at  all 
times  our  feelings  may  be  strong  and  lively ;  but  we 
are  to  cherish  a  prayerful  and  devotional  spirit  of 
mind,  which  is  to  be  very  much  like  the  sacred  fire 
which  the  priests  kept  continually  burning  on  the 
altar;  that  fire  was  not  always  rising  into  a  flame, 
but  it  was  always  there  ready  to  rise  into  a  flame, 
morning  and  evening,  and  on  other  occasions  v/hen 
the  sacrifice  was  laid  upon  it.  In  like  manner  we 
must  never  allow  the  fire  of  devotion  to  be  extin- 
guished in  our  hearts  ;  it  must  be  always  there,  ready 
to  break  forth  into  fervent  feeling,  and  utterances 
when  circumstances  admit  and  require  it.  It  has  to 
be  added  that,  while  we  can  jiray  without  words,  we 
will  find  it  useful  generally  to  pray  in  the  use  of 
words,  either  breathed  by  the  lips  or  breathed  in  the 
heart.  When  we  would  pray  without  any  verbal 
expression,  the  thoughts  are  apt  to  wander,  and  be- 
come scattered  and  distracted  hither  and  thither  upon 


1 6       THE  PROPRIE TV  OF  ACKNO WLEDGING 

the  mountains  of  vanity;  or  should  we  succeed  in 
preventing  this,  the  mind  apprehends  everything 
dimly,  and  may  sink  into  a  state  of  painful  vacancy. 
Even  in  secret  we  may  find  it  expedient  to  employ 
fit  words  to  restrain  the  imagination  and  to  call  forth 
and  guide  the  feelings.  Words  may  not,  in  them- 
selves, be  of  much  value,  but  they  are  a  channel  in 
which  the  waters  of  the  affections  flow.  They  are,  as 
it  were,  the  vessel  which  contains  the  incense  pre- 
sented before  the  Lord  ;  they  are  the  cords  which 
bind  the  sacrifice  to  the  altar,  that  our  prayers  *'  may 
be  set  forth  before  the  Lord  as  incense,  and  the  lift- 
ing up  of  our  hands  as  the  evening  sacrifice." 

Schleiermacher,  the  great  German  theologian,  repre- 
sented the  essence  of  religion  as  consisting  in  a  sense 
of  dependence  on  God.  This  is  a  mistake  ;  it  would 
make  religion  too  like  the  obedience  which  a  dog 
renders  to  its  master.  The  essence  of  religion  and  of 
all  virtue  consists  in  love — in  love  to  God,  and  love 
to  man,  rendered  because  it  is  due,  and  leading  us  to 
bow  before  God  and  to  do  His  will.  This  is  the  essence 
of  religion  to  all  intelligent  beings  throughout  the 
universe.  Religion  to  those  who  are  sinners  consists 
in  believing — in  believing  in  Christ  the  Saviour,  in 
surrendering  ourselves,  and  following  Him  in  love. 
They  who  come  fully  under  its  power  walk  with  God. 
They  have  the  privilege  of  access  to  Him  at  all  times. 
They  can  unbosom  themselves  to  Him  as  a  man 
docs  to  his  friend,  and  find  relief  in  doing  so.  They 
walk  in  a  way  j^repared  for  them  :  in  a  way  shut  in 
for  them  ;   it  may  be,  by  thorns  on  the  right  side  and 


THE  LORD  IX  ALL  OCR   \VA  VS.  17 

the  left ;  but  all  that  they  may  be  kept  from  w  an- 
dering,  and  protected  from  intruders  coming  in  upon 
them  from  the  waste.  At  any  one  point  in  the  jour- 
ney they  may  see  but  a  very  little  way  before  them ; 
but  they  see  the  path  defined  as  for  the  time 
present,  and  they  walk  on  under  a  shady  canopy, 
having  a  glimpse  ever  and  anon  of  the  restored  Para- 
dise toward  which  they  are  traveling. 

IV. 
The  Lord  directs  our  steps.  God  has  two 
special  ways  of  directing  us.  There  is  His  Provi- 
dence, which  has  formed  a  path  for  us  through  this 
world,  which  is  as  tangled  as  a  forest,  and  draws  or 
drives  us  into  it.  The  road  has  windings  of  which 
we  do  not  see  the  meaning  at  the  time  ;  but  "  u  hat 
thou  knowest  not  now  thou  shalt  know  hereafter "  ; 
as  we  discover  that  the  road  struck  off  at  that  jDlace  to 
avoid  a  mountain,  or  a  prccii)ice,  which  would  have 
interrupted  our  progress,  or  a  river  into  which  we 
might  have  fallen.  When  the  children  of  Israel  went 
out  of  Kgypt,  the  Lord  did  not  lead  them  by  the 
near  way  —  which  was  the  way  of  the  Philistines,  a 
warlike  people,  who  would  have  fallen  upon  them 
and  slain  them  ;  but  by  the  wilderness,  where  they 
were  purified  by  the  air  of  the  desert,  and  saw  His  won- 
ders in  the  manna  lying  on  the  bare  waste,  and  water 
flowing  from  the  smitten  rock,  and  th'*  pillar  of  cloud 
by  day,  ever  kindled  into  the  pillar  of  fire  by  night. 
He  led  them  forth,  not  by  the  near  way,  but  ''  by  the 
right  way,  that  they  might  go  to  a  city  of  habitation. 


1 8       THE  PROPRIETY  OF  ACKNO  WLEDGING 

At  the  time  we  may  not  sec  it  to  be  the  ri^^ht  way. 
"All  these  things  are  against  me,"  was  the  language 
which  Jacob  was  tempted  to  use  on  one  occasion. 
And  at  the  time  all  things  seemed  to  be  against 
him.  His  favorite  son  went  out  in  youthful  buo)'ancy 
to  visit  the  encampment  of  his  brothers,  and  the  only 
record  of  him  was  his  coat  dipped  in  blood,  indicat- 
ing that  he  had  been  torn  by  wild  beasts.  Beset  by 
famine,  he  sent  out  ten  of  his  sons  to  buy  corn  in 
Egypt ;  and  nine  of  them  returned  to  tell  how  one 
of  them  had  been  retained  as  a  prisoner,  and  would 
not  be  released  unless  the  youngest  brother  were 
sent  to  that  country.  We  do  not  wonder  that  in 
these  circumstances  the  expression  should  have 
escaped  him,  "All  these  things  are  against  me."  But 
as  he  followed  reluctantly  the  will  of  God,  he  was 
made  to  see  that  the  departure  of  Joseph  was  the 
means  of  preserving  the  whole  family  from  famine 
and  furnishing  a  refuge  for  the  race  on  which  hung 
the  destinies  of  mankind  ;  and  in  allowing  his  Ben- 
jamin to  go,  it  turned  out  that  the  whole  household 
was  reunited  and  preserved.  He  then  saw,  to  use 
the  language  of  a  man  of  stronger  faith  in  a  more 
advanced  age,  '*  that  all  things  work  together  for 
good  to  them  that  love  God  and  are  the  called  ac- 
cording to  His  purpose."  It  is  a  characteristic  of  the 
Old  Testament  that  it  shows  us  the  path  by  which 
believers  are  led  ;  while  they  walked  in  it,  it  seemed 
tortuous  to  them  ;  but  the  Bible  discloses  the  issue. 
Many  an  aged  Christian  is  able,  ere  he  departs,  to 
testify  that  an  unseen  hand  has  been  guiding  him.     I 


THE  LORD  IX  ALL  OCR   W'AYS.  ig 

am  still  on  the  journey,  and  do  not  yet  sec  the  inten- 
tion of  all  I  have  passed  through  ;  but  I  find  it 
curious  and  instructiv^e  to  note  that  the  few  offices  I 
coveted  and  applied  for  were  not  given  me,  and  that 
the  important  offices  in  the  Church  and  in  the  col- 
leges which  I  have  held  in  two  countries,  were  offered 
mc  without  any  application  whatever  on  my  part.  I 
believe  that,  when  we  reach  heaven,  we  will  ad  sec 
the  wisdom  of  the  way  in  which  we  have  been  led  ; 
not  the  way  we  should  ourselves  have  chosen,  but  a 
far  better  way. 

In  these  days,  when  physical  science  is  studied  in 
a  narrow  and  exclusive  spirit,  people  confuse  them- 
selves as  to  the  possibility  of  God  pnswering  prayer 
and  accomplishing  His  ends.  The  laws  of  nature  are 
so  fixed,  they  say,  that  there  is  nothing  for  (jod,  if 
there  be  a  God,  but  to  lay  by  and  see  them  working. 
They  forget,  in  the  first  place,  that  the  laws  of  nature 
are,  in  fact,  the  laws  of  God  ;  as  the  Psalmist  express- 
es it,  "They  continue  this  day,  according  to  Thine  or- 
dinances, for  all  are  Thy  servants."  This  was  a  truth 
clearly  seen  and  often  expressed  by  the  eminent  phi- 
losopher lately  taken  from  us,  who  was  so  long  and 
intimately  connected  with  this  College,  who  was,  for 
years  past,  the  head  of  the  science  of  this  country', 
who  was  described  by  Brewster  as  the  successor  of 
Franklin  in  America,  and  who  discovered  those  scien- 
tific principles  which  made  it  possible  to  communi- 
cate with  lightning  velocity  with  the  most  distant 
parts  of  the  earth:  he  delighted  to  ascribe  all  the 
operations  of  nature  to  God. 


20       THE  PROPRIE  T \ '  OF  ACKNO  WLEDGING 

I  could  show  )X)u,  if  time  admitted  and  the  occasion 
were  appropriate,  that  the  predestination,  so  express- 
ly laid  down  in  Scripture,  is  the  same  as  the  uniform- 
ity of  nature  as  established  by  modern  science.  It  is 
one  and  the  same  truth  seen  under  different  aspects, 
the  one  from  abovx\  on  the  side  of  God  and  heaven, 
and  the  other  from  below,  on  the  side  of  man  and  of 
the  earth.  Both  are  quite  consistent,  on  the  one 
hand,  with  the  freedom  of  man,  who  may  use  these 
agents  to  accomplish  his  ends ;  and,  on  the  other  hand, 
with  the  freedom  of  God,  who  thus  executes  His 
eternal  purposes.  They  forget  that  in  order  to  an 
end  there  is  need  not  only  of  laws,  but  an  arrangement, 
an  adjustment  of  these  laws.  In  that  machine  there 
is  need  not  only  of  wheels,  joints,  straps,  cylinders, 
but  of  a  distribution  of  them,  and  a  fitting  of  them 
one  to  another,  in  order  that  it  throw  off  its  valuable 
products  in  wool,  cotton,  or  metal.  So  in  the  mighty 
works  of  God,  there  are  not  only  laws,  but  a  colloca- 
tion of  laws,  not  onl)-  agencies,  but  an  adjustment  of 
agencies  in  order  that  He  may  guide  and  protect  His 
creatures.  The  eye  looking  up  to  the  sky  can  see  a 
star  millions  of  miles  awa)',  and  this  not  merely  be- 
cause of  the  laws  of  light  and  the  laws  of  the  coats 
and  humors  of  the  eye,  but  because  the  light  from 
that  distant  object  is  suited  to  our  organism.  It  is 
by  such  pre-arrangements  that  (iod  gives  an  answer  to 
the  prayer  of  faith  and  fulfills  His  promises  to  His  peo- 
ple, *' The  very  hairs  of  cnir  head  are  all  numbered." 
**  A  sparrow  can  not  fall  to  the  ground  without 
Him." 


THE  LORD  IN  ALL  OTR    WAVS.  21 

But  there  is  another  way  in  which  God  directs  our 
steps,  and  this  is  by  means  of  His  Word  and  Sj)irit. 
I  put  tliese  two  together,  for  in  addressing  us  the 
Spirit  acts  through  the  Word,  and  the  Word  as  an 
instrument  needs  the  Spirit  to  wield  it,  and  give  it 
force.  In  His  ordinary  operations  the  Spirit  does 
not  reveal  anything  new ;  He  simply  applies  the 
truths  of  God's  Word  to  the  conscience  and  to  the 
heart,  making  them  convince  and  convert,  sanctify 
and  comfort.  On  the  other  hand,  the  W'ord  itself 
can  not  regenerate  a  soul ;  it  is  merely  the  sword  which 
the  Spirit  uses  to  the  dividing  asunder  of  the  flesh 
and  spirit.  But  by  the  Word  and  Spirit  He  is  speak- 
ing to  us  as  effectually  as  He  did  to  His  ancient 
people.  True,  He  may  not  speak  to  us  in  the  whirl- 
wind, as  He  once  did  to  the  patriarch  Job,  or  visit  us 
in  earthquake,  as  He  once  did  Jerusalem,  or  descend 
in  fire,  as  He  once  did  in  answer  to  the  prayer  of 
Elijah ;  but  though  the  Lord  is  not  in  the  strong 
wind,  or  in  the  earthquake,  or  in  the  fire,  He  address- 
es us  in  the  still,  small  voice  of  His  Word  spoken  by 
the  Spirit.  He  speaks  to  us  in  the  passages  which 
we  read.  Nay,  as  we  read,  the  truth  impresses  itself 
upon  our  hearts — as  the  words  spoken  to  the  phono- 
graph do  upon  the  metal,  and  the  law  is  written  on 
the  heart  and  speaks  to  us  from  day  to  day.  With 
God's  providence  overshadowing  him  as  an  avenue, 
and  with  God's  grace  to  buoy  him  up  within,  the  Chris- 
tian walks  on  his  way,  leaning  on  the  arm  of  Jesus  as 
his  beloved,  and  with  heaven  in  his  eye. 


22      THE  PROPRIETY  OF  ACKNOWLEDGING 

Gentlemen  of  the  Graduating  Class: — Hav- 
ing completed  an  extended  course  of  education  of  a 
general  kind,  you  are  now  about  to  set  out  on  your 
special  professional  walks.  Some  of  you,  I  know,  are 
very  anxious,  and  so  are  your  fathers,  mothers,  and 
friends,  as  to  what  line  of  life  you  should  pursue. 
From  the  height  you  have  now  reached  you  will  look 
into  the  country  before  you  thoughtfully  and  care- 
fully. The  atmosphere  is  somewhat  dim,  and  the 
land  woody  and  tangled  ;  you  see  the  openings,  but 
not  the  terminations,  of  the  roads.  In  these  circum- 
stances you  should  take  counsel  from  Him  who  sur- 
veys all  things  from  a  greater  height,  and  knows  the 
end  from  the  beginning.  ''  Show  me  the  way  where- 
in I  should  walk,  for  I  lift  up  my  soul  unto  Thee." 

Every  one  in  this  life  has  to  take  his  own  way. 
The  path  in  which  we  have  to  go  has  never  been 
trodden  by  any  one  before  us.  No  one,  father  or 
mother  or  friend,  can  go  the  whole  way  with  us. 
With  some  now  present  the  time  has  come  when  they 
have  to  go  forth  from  the  dear  home  in  which  they 
have  been  reared,  and  are  no  longer  to  be  under  the 
special  care  of  those  who  have  hitherto  guided 
them  so  faithfully  and  tenderly.  Every  one  has  to 
cut  a  way  for  himself,  as  the  ship  has  in  the  broad 
ocean  ;  it  is  to  him  a  new  one,  he  has  to  take  it  once 
for  all,  and  can  not  return  upon  it.  ICvery  man  has 
only  one  life;  he  has  to  live  it  only  once;  and  he 
can  not — thou<.^di  this  is  the  vain  w  ish  of  man\'  an 
old  man  — live  it  over  again.  How  important  that 
you  should  choose  the  right  way,  and  when  you  can 


THE  LORD  IN  ALL  OUR   WAYS.  23 

not   have  a  Iniman,  to    have  a  divine  and  infallible 
Guide. 

Your  feelin<^^  this  day  will  be  a  mixed  one,  partly 
of  <;ladness  and  partly  of  sadness,  that  one  stage  of 
life  has  been  run.  You  will  have  much  the  same 
feeliiitr  as  the  daughter  has  when  she  has  to  leave  her 
mother's  house,  to  enter  into  a  house  of  her  own, 
■with  one  she  can  trust.  You  will  have  devices  and 
hopes  as  to  the  new  path  on  which  you  have  entered  ; 
but  this  will  not  prevent  you  from  feelinfr  sorrow  in 
parting  with  the  place  which  you  have  learned  to 
love,  and  from  companions  with  whom  you  have 
had  pleasant  social  intercourse. 

I  can  not  but  feel  an  interest  in  young  men  who 
have  been  for  years  within  our  walls,  and  with  whom 
I  have  come  in  contact  weekly — in  a  sense,  daily.  I 
can  sincerely  say  that,  as  I  look  back  on  your  course 
here,  I  have  no  unpleasant,  and  many  pleasant,  mem- 
ories:  of  character  developed,  of. progress  in  study, 
of  attachments  gained,  and  friendships  formed  among 
those  who,  long  under  me,  now  feel  as  if  they  are 
on  the  same  level.  We  will  remember  you  with  in- 
terest and  affection,  and  look  forward  to  your  future 
career  with  hope  and  expectation.  We  confide  in 
you,  that  you  will  never  do  anything  unworthy  of 
the  institution  at  which  you  have  been  trained,  and 
which  will  cause  your  Alma  IMater  to  be  ashamed  of 
you.  You  will,  I  trust,  return  from  time  to  time  to 
these  pleasant  heights,  to  visit  these  shaded  walks, 
and  these  rooms  so  full  of  memories,  to  pay  your 
respects  to  those  who  have  taught  you  so  faithfully, 


24       THE  PROPRIETY  OF  ACKNOWLEDGING 

who  will  follow  your  career  with  interest,  and  always 
be  ^lad  to  renew  their  acquaintance  with  }'ou. 

You  have  here  enjoyed,  you  will  admit,  many  privi- 
leges. You  came  to  us  while  we  were  multiplying 
our  teachers  so  as  to  subdivide  our  instruction  and 
make  it  more  efficient  and  embrace  the  important 
branches  of  knowledge  taught  in  our  best  colleges, 
and  furnishing  our  libraries  and  museums  so  as  to  en- 
able you  to  look  into  what  has  been  done  in  the  past 
and  penetrate  into  the  secrets  of  nature,  and,  I  may 
add,  beautifying  our  lawn  and  our  buildings  so  as  to 
elevate  the  taste  by  the  objects  pressing  themselves 
on  your  notice.  As  vastly  more  important,  you 
have  had  able  and  faithful  instructors  who  have  taken 
great  pains  to  disclose  to  you  the  refinements  of  liter- 
ature, the  truths  of  science,  and  the  elevations  of 
philosophy.  Here,  too,  you  have  had  the  volume  of 
inspiration  opened  and  seen  there  more  precious 
treasures  than  apparatus  and  books  and  lectures,  and 
seen  as  in  a  glass  the  glory  of  the  Lord  revealed  in 
the  face  of  His  Son.  It  is  most  interesting  to  us  to 
find  that  the  pre-eminent  value  of  Scripture  and  the 
need  and  preciousness  of  the  salvation  in  Christ  were 
truths  as  firmly  held  by  Dr.  Henry  as  the  principles 
of  science  which  he  did  so  much  to  advance — in  this 
as  in  character  honorable  and  pure^  he  has  set  an 
example  to  the  youth  of  this  College  which  they 
should  delight  to  follow. 

We  who  have  been  placed  over  you,  feel,  I  am 
sure,  as  if  we  had  not  always  improved,  as  we  should 
have    done,  our  opportunities  of  doing  good;   and 


THE  r.ORD  IX  AT  J.  OCR   ]]'/!  VS.  25 

someofyoii  nia\'  liaxi-  to  confess  thai  \-oii  niiL^^lU  liavc 
profited  more  than  \'oii   have  done  by  tlie  instruction 
imjiarled.     S(Mne  o{    us   niiq^ht    wisli    tliat    we  could 
onI\-  tliis  da\-  make  up  for  our  defects.      Hut   this  can 
not  now  be  done.    Tlie  past  is  past  ;  but  we  may  and 
sliould  remember  that  "God   rcquireth  that  whicli   is 
past ;  "  we  ma\-  ask  forgiveness  for  tlie  j)ast,  and  recjuire 
of  it  to  L^ivc  us  lessons  so  tliat  we  ma\'  profit  by  our 
ver\'  fa  i  hi  res,  by  avoidini^  int  he  future  the  mistakes 
of  the  past.     Let  us  feel,  however,  that  we  are  not  to 
be  contented  with  mere  empty  purposes;  we  arc  "to 
brin^  forth  fruits  meet  for  repentance."     The  model 
of  rousin<;  preachin^L,^  who  uttered  these  words   used 
to  address  each   particular  class  of  his  hearers  as  he 
saw   they  needed — bidding  the   publicans   exact    no 
more  than  had  been  appointed  them,  and  the  soldiers 
to  do  no  violence  to  any  man,  and  the  self-righteous 
Jews  not  to  trust  to  having  Abraham  as  their  father, 
and  all  to  repent  ami  believe.     So,  trusting  that  the 
memorable  occasion   may  give  impressiveness  to  m\- 
words,    I    sa\'    to    you    intending    lawyers,    see    that 
ye  yield  to   no  crookedness;   and   to  \'ou   intending 
merchants,  that  ye  be  honorable   in   all  your  trans- 
actions; to  }'ou  journalists,  that  }'e  write  only  what 
ye  know  to  be  true,  and  to  you  ministers  of  the  ever- 
lasting  Gospel,  "that    }'oifr    aim    be    to    win    souls   to 
Christ;  and   to  all,  that  ye   live  soberly,  righteously, 
and  godly.     Setting  you   forth  with   these  purposes, 
the  College  now  in  i)arting  w  ith  \-ou,  leaves  its  bless- 
ing on  you  and   prays  for  a  higher  blessing.     "The 
Lord  shall  preserve  thee  from  all  evil  ;   He  shall   pre- 


26  ACKNOWLEDGE  THE  LORD. 

serve  thy  soul.  The  Lord  shall  preserve  thy  going 
out  and  thy  coming  in  from  this  time  forth  even  for- 
evermore." 

We  ma)'  never  meet  again  on  earth,  l^ut  there  is 
one  place  where  we  must  all  meet,  and  that  is  at  the 
judgment  da\',  there  to  be  re-united  and  never  sepa- 
rated, or  to  be  separated  and  never  re-united  ;  how- 
ever widely  you  may  be  sundered  on  earth,  you  will 
all  have  to  come  together  from  the  east  and  the  west, 
the  north  and  the  south,  and  the  earth  and  the  sea 
will  have  to  give  up  their  dead.  A  roll  will  then  be 
called,  to  which  all  will  have  to  answer.  How  wretch- 
ed those  who  have  hid  their  Lord's  talent  in  the  earth. 
How  blessed  those  whose  names  are  written  in  the 
Lord's  Book  of  Life  ;  "  they  rest  from  their  labors 
and  their  works  do  follow  them." 


DR.    Mi  COSH'S    WORKS. 


I.  LOGIC-LAWS  OF  DISCURSIVE  THOUGHT:  Being  a  Text-book 
of  Formal  Logic.     12010.     $1.50. 

The  work  has  been  reviewed  lately  (1876)  in  the  leading  philosophic  peri- 
odical of  Germany,  the  '"Zeitschift  flir  Philosophic,"  by  Dr.  Ulrici,  one 
of  the  editors,  who  points  out  the  leading  characteristics  of  the  treatise 
and  closes  a  long  and  able  discussion  with  declaring,  "  1  hesitate  not  to 
declare  that  Dr.  McCnsH's  work  is  the  best  Text-book  of  Logic  in  the  En- 
glish language."  Dr.  Uberweg,  the  famous  historian  of  philosophy,  de- 
clares that  Dr.  McCosh  has  made  important  additions  to  Logic. 

This  work  is  used  in  a  considerable  number  of  the  Colleges  and  Upper 
Schools  of  the  United  Stales  and  of  Canada  ;  and  strong  testimonies  have 
been  given,  both  by  teachers  and  pupils,  in  favor  of  its  being  practically 
adapted  to  the  understanding  of  youth.  It  is  brief,  simple,  and  intelligible, 
and  abounds  in  examples  and  illustrations. 

II.  HISTORY  OF  SCOTTISH  PHILOSOPHY.    8vo.    14.00. 

This  work  has  been  lately  reviewed,  with  high  commendations,  by  Dr.  Dor- 
ner,  of  Berlin,  in  the  "Jahrbiicherfiir  Deutsche  Philosophic,"  and  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1878,  by  Prof.  Ferri,  one  of  the  editors,  in  "  La  Filosofia  delle  Scuole 
Italiane." 

III.  THE  METHOD  OF   THE    DIVINE    GOVERNMENT,    Physical   and 

Moral.     Svo.     12.50. 
"  It  is  refreshing  to  read  a  work  so  distinguished  for  originality  and   sound- 
ness of  thinking,  especially  as  coming  ftom  an  author  of  our  own  country." 
— Sir  Williatu  Hamilton. 

IV.  TYPICAL  FORMS  AND  SPECIAL  ENDS  IN  CREATION.    EyjAMKS 

McCosH,  LL.D.,  and  Dr.  Dickie.     Svo.     ♦2,50. 
'*  It  is  alike  comprehensive  in  its  range,  accurate  and  minute  in  its  details, 
original  in  its  structure,  and  devout  in  its  tone  and  tendency." — Argus. 

V.  THE  INTUITIONS  OF  THE  MIND.     New  and  Improved  Edition.    Svo. 
I3.00. 
"  It  is  the  only  scientific  work  adapted  to  counteract  the  school  of  Mill,  Bain, 
and  Herbert  Spencer,  which  is  so  steadily  prevailing  among  the  students 
<j1  the  present  generation."— Z(';f</i7«  Quarterly  AV-'/Vtc,  .-{pril.^  1865. 

VI.  A  DEFENCE    OF    FUNDAMENTAL  TRUTH.     Being  an  Examination 
of  Mr.  J.  S.  Mii.t.'s  Philosophy.     Svo.     ^(3.00. 
"The   spirit    of  these    discussions    is   admirable.     Fearless    and   courteous, 
.McCosh  never  hesitates  to  bestow  praise  when   merited,  nor  to  attack  a 
heresy  wherever  found." — Congregational Rtview. 

VII.  CHRISTIANITY  AND  POSITIVISM.    A  Series  of.Lectures  to  the  Times 
on  Natural  Theology  and  Apologetics,     ismo.     $1.75. 

VIII.   IDEAS  IN  NATURE  OVERLOOKED  BY  DR.  TYNDALL.    Being  an 
Examination  of  Dr.  Tyndall's  Belfast  Address.     lamo.     Cloth.     50  cents. 

I.X.    IHE   DEVELOP.MENT   HYPOTHESIS,     so  cents. 


Koiii:ki    c.\i<ri::R    and   ijko  tukk.s. 

AVk/    )  'ork. 


